Anderson County remembers the fallen for Memorial Day

Doyle Burroughs, left, shows Turk Culberson his brothers name on the Anderson County Veterans Monument before the start of a Memorial Day ceremony.

Anderson Independent Mail

ANDERSON COUNTY - The ones specifically honored by Memorial Day will never be able see the flags flying overhead or cover their ears before a loud volley of rifle fire.

Surviving veterans keep the day alive, unfurling flags and setting symbolically empty tables out of respect for their fallen compatriots and for those who came before.

The survivors are the custodians of Memorial Day, respectfully performing the rites on a day set aside instead for the fallen.

"It reminds you that the best ones never made it back. Memorial Day is for them," Dick Dominick said Saturday.

He lowered his ball cap and stood and said the Pledge of Allegiance along with dozens of fellow veterans — from World War II, Vietnam, the Korean War and more recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan — at an event at the Anderson County Veterans Monument.

Dominick, 83, said he was proud to carry out the traditions that others would have performed in his honor had he not made it back to his hometown of Anderson after two years in an Army combat team in the Korean War.

More than 100 people — including the Anderson County Young Marines and wives and family members of veterans — attended the solemn ceremony Saturday.

"There were a couple of fellows that didn't make it," Dominick said. "I'm very proud of my service to my country. But today always reminds me of the best ones we ever had, the ones who never got to come back home."

The remembrance ceremony happens each year in front of the County Veterans Monument, which includes flags and five staircase-shaped brick walls bearing plaques with the names of thousands who have served.

Ray Todd pointed to his own name — Charles R. Todd — on one of the walls.

He is on the Korean War wall. He also served in the Vietnam War. His brother, who attended last year but was out of town this year, is listed on both walls.

"These people helped us keep our freedom," Todd said while placing his finger on one of the plaques. "A lot of people died. Some gave it their all, some gave it some, and we're still here."

While the day is intended for the fallen, it also hits the survivors hard.

"It's unfortunately something you never forget, the sacrifice that they made," said Sammy Lewis, a wounded Vietnam combat veteran.

Lewis also is the Anderson County Veterans Affairs officer.

"Of course there is a special meaning for today for me and my fellow Americans," he said. "It's a heartfelt meaning. I don't know that there are words to describe it, but the veterans, they all understand."

Not only veterans, Lewis added, but their families and fellow citizens can come to grasp the enormity of what Memorial Day means to America.

"I don't hear it very often, but some of the most patriotic people I've ever met are not veterans," he said.

Wives, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and other family members and friends can carry with them the fear of not knowing and the longing for a reunion with someone who is serving in the military, or at least another day with no bad news.

"When my husband was in Vietnam, the worry I had was hard," said Sandra Bonds, an Anderson resident.

Her husband, John Bonds, returned, and the two are now actively involved in several veterans' groups, including her role as commander of Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Post 40.

"When I think of Memorial Day, I think of our country and what the men have gone through fighting for it," Sandra Bonds said. "It means freedom to me. And we wouldn't have the country we have if they hadn't fought."

She urged the next generation of veterans and spouses to get involved with organizations, but understands they have family commitments.

Keynote speaker Lt. Col. Thomas Washington, married to a Honea Path native, said he has been to cemeteries of all sizes and conditions, in foreign countries and in his own nation.

"For many it's a three-day weekend instead of the solemn day we know it to be. I can tell you that wars do not discriminate on the basis of religion," he said, also noting many other categories such as age and wealth. "Wars are equal opportunity."

Washington cited a recent article in a military publication that reported that 425 service members had died in the line of duty in the past year.

"It's not too much for us to take time so we may remember those who allow us to be enjoying these freedoms," he said.

Veterans have not always been offered the respect they have always earned, said David Harper, an Anderson resident who served in the Army during the Korean War.

"But I think it's getting better," he said. "I see more people appreciating veterans these days."